The Light at the End
by Leman of the Russ
Summary: Post-Avengers. Prequel to Cold War- Calm Before the Storm. How have the noble Avengers fared after the Chitari, what trials and tribulations have they faced and, more importantly, what blessings and miracles have their received. Set post- TDW and Iron Man 3. Pairings- Pepperony, Thane, Clintasha, Loki/Sigyn and Hill/Coulson.
1. Author's Note

**OK, here's a little new Year's treat for you, a fic that acts as back-story to it's sister fic ****_Cold War: The Calm Before the_****_Storm._**** It's set just after Thor: The Dark World, and uses my idea of what the aftermath of both it and Iron Man 3 would be.**

**It also uses the assumption that Tony and Pepper got married during the final scenes of Iron Man 3, and Pepper got pregnant shortly after, so that should clear up any confusion.**

**It also uses the assumption that Loki actually 'died' during the events of TDW, but then brought himself back (cause c'mon, does the title ****_Trickster God_**** ring any bells?!) **

**Alongside this, it assumes that Tony eventually reclaimed his post as CEO of SI from Pepper, and that Rhodey once again became the military liaison. **

**This came to me after I was re-reading some of the chapters of ****_Cold War_****, and I thought to myself 'hang on, what the hell happened here to cause that?' This persisted throughout several more chapters, and it wasn't until I re-watched Iron Man 1 and 2, and watched the Next Avengers animated movie that something actually clicked, that something being this.**

**This story cover not only the Avengers' building relationships, it'll also give my idea of how certain characters (Red She-Hulk, for example) would appear (or even _re-appear_) in the Movie-verse. It also allows me to introduce certain other characters from the Marvel-verse that haven't yet appeared in any movies; Skaar, Lyra, and Sigyn to name a few. **

**This story will also help me solidify certain relationships in the _Cold War, _as well as explain the appearance of certain Marvel that, according to current Movie-verse lore, should be long dead or, in specific cases, trying to claw each other's throats out (that should give a big enough clue).  
**

**I hope you enjoy this spin-off of sorts, and I hope it shines some light of some of the issues that some of you may have picked up on.**

**Leman of the Russ**


	2. Chapter 1- Whose who Grieve

**Here's the first chapter of the Light, and a happy New Year to you all! For future reference, should anyone request anything of these chapters, I will take it into consideration. I recommend you read at least chapters 5-9 of my other story: Cold War- The Calm before the Storm. This story will cover the run-up to that, and will use Thor: The Dark World and other post-Avengers films as resource material. Anyway, enough rambling, onward! **

* * *

Thor gloomily stalked the halls of Asgard's Royal Palace, his usually boisterous voice rendered mute.

The past few days hadn't exactly been what one would call fortuitous. Not only had he lost his mother to Malekith and his dark servants, now Loki was lost to him as well; avenging Frigga's death by destroying the beast responsible with his own weapon at the cost of his own life. And, just to salt the already gaping wound, Odin had mysteriously fallen into the Odinsleep after his audience with his son, leaving Asgard practically leaderless.

After he had returned from Midgard, he had found his home in a state of complete disarray. Immediately he had been swamped by duties as people turned to him in his father's place.

He absolutely hated it.

Every day he had to deal with a new proposition from the Council, a new border dispute, and other trivialities. Thor sighed explosively, emptying his lungs alongside his built-up frustrations.

_Loki was always better at this than I_ he thought, before violently crushing it; thinking of his brother never ended well. Without thinking, he continued to wander aimlessly amid the halls. Eventually, he found himself outside Loki's quarters, a place he dared not visit for fear of finally succumbing to his grief. He quickly turned away, tears building in his ocean-blue eyes, which were viciously wiped away; he couldn't afford to show weakness.

Suddenly his thoughts turned to Midgard; of Jane and the Avengers. It had been a while since any mortals had set foot in Asgard, a few mortal weeks since Jane had arrived, and he could think of none more worthy of such an honour.

He was wrenched out of his trance when something collided with his chest, and he looked down to see a large raven on the floor, glancing up at him with its beady gold eyes.

"Muninn" he whispered, before gathering the bird up in both hands and depositing him on a nearby wall.

Muninn cawed, before looking the Thunderer in the eye and said cryptically "The Old One still sleeps, but those once dead walk again" before settling down and closing his eyes.

Thor smiled softly at the large bird; he had always had something of a soft spot for his father's ravens. To many, they were the All-Father's eyes and ears across all the realms, his spies and information gatherers. But that wasn't how Thor saw them. He saw them as his father's trusted friends, his closest allies, as well as two of the constants in the ocean that was Asgard politics.

He had grown up around them, watched them, and listened to them when they spoke, and knew them to be two of the most intelligent beings in Asgard, and considered himself blessed to have gained their counsel and trust.

* * *

Soon, his travels brought him out of the palace and to the feasting hall, a place he had avoided almost as much as his brother's chambers. He gazed longingly at the doors, wishing with all his heart to once again join his friends in their revelry, to return to a simpler life without the burden of kingship.

If Loki was here, he would gladly take the entire issue from Thor's shoulders. If Loki was here…  
Thor vehemently shook his head and growled, chasing such thoughts into the dark recesses of his mind whilst gaining some strange glanced from citizens as they passed.

His behaviour had been somewhat erratic at best of late; many attributed it to his sudden rise to leadership and the loss of his mother and Queen.

But those closer to him, those who actually _knew_ the man- not the Prince- knew differently.

They knew that the loss of the Queen had hurt him, yes, but that wasn't the most painful injury he hadn't suffered recently.

But what seemed to amaze them was the fact that it was the sudden loss of Loki that had carved the largest tear into the Thunderer's spirit.

To him, it was simple. Loki had been his brother, regardless of blood ties, and so his loss had the same effect of losing a brother. It was almost as if a small part of him had been left behind with Loki on the black sands of the Dark World, left to die alongside the Trickster.

_Oh, brother,_ he lamented silently, _why didn't you let anyone in? Let us see? _

But contemplating such things were pointless, Loki was lost to them, again, his spirit having been taken by the cold hands of Death herself. Thor only hoped Loki had found her in a benevolent mood and had received the afterlife he truly deserved, not the cold banishment the rest of Asgard believed his actions had earned.

Thor looked to the sky and, seeing the sun descending towards the west, again turned back to the palace, and directed his form towards the throne room.

_Time to resume my 'royal' duties_ he thought dejectedly as his powerful strides carried him forward.

The great doors rumbled open at his will, and the guards turned slightly at his presence. He nodded to them as he passed, as the guards respectfully closed the doors behind him.

As he slumped down in his father's throne, the doors boomed opened and four familiar figures strode through. He straightened in the golden chair as Lady Sif and the Warriors Three- his closest friends- knelt at the base of the stair leading to the base of the great throne, a fist over their hearts, their heads bowed.

"My liege" Sif started, looking up from her crouch, a small smile on her beautiful face as she stared into Thor's cobalt-blue eyes, her own hazel orbs sparkling like two stars in the night sky.

They dimmed slightly at the sight of the Thunderer's melancholy; the way his arms sat limp on the arms of the throne, the way his head rested on his broad chest, and the aura of pure exhaustion that seemed to radiate from every pore of his being.

The others noticed it as well, for their faces grew concerned-sans Hogun, he kept his grim façade up flawlessly- and their eyes grew troubled.

Thor raised his head slightly, looking past his friends to the guards that stood in the hall.

* * *

"Leave us" he said, his voice soft yet firm at the same time.

The guards suddenly straightened, whilst their faces betrayed nothing, as they quietly left the room. As soon as he heard the last footfall echo down the hallway, Thor let the kingly facade drop, allowing his true self to leak through. He collapsed in the throne, apparently boneless, his limbs sagging like decaying branches of some ancient tree.

Volstagg was the first to his side, wrapping a tree trunk sized arm around his shoulders to steady him lest he fall completely. Sif was quick to join him, helping to lift him from the gilded seat and to the floor, with his back resting against the side of the throne.

"Thor?" Fandral inquired, crouching down beside his friend, placing a concerned hand in his shoulder, "what ails you my friend?" By this point

Thor was too weary to conjure a coherent sentence- words were never his strong suite, anyway- so he glanced each of them in the eye, letting his exhaustion and weariness shine through. Hogun, ever observant, took the unspoken hint and hefted the prince up from the floor, slinging one of his arms over his shoulders.

Fandral joined him on the other side, sliding his arm around the Thunderer's back to hold his aloft. The group carried their Prince towards his chambers, watching with worried eyes as he continued to slip further and further into exhaustion, his eyelids steadily drooping downwards alongside his head sagging limp.

They soon arrived at his chambers- Volstagg all but kicking the door down in his haste- and they lay Thor down on his bed. They watched, apprehensively, as his eyes sagged lower as sleep beckoned to him. Thor barely had enough energy to turn his head and whisper a quiet "thank you" before succumbing to the warm embrace of sleep. The foursome stood awkwardly, not sure of what to do. Finally, Volstagg headed for the door, with the others trailing behind him

. Before she left, Sif spared one last glance at the sleeping form of the Thunderer, her hazel eyes drinking in the firmness of his arms, the chiselled muscle that defined his frame, and the sweep of his hair as it lay over his face. Her usually fierce expression softened, resulting in something resembling caring and- some might even say- whimsical.

But as she stepped over the threshold, she was certain she heard faint laughter, light and gleeful, and undeniably familiar.

She cocked her head to one side, noticing the others glance around- she wasn't the only one to have heard it, it seemed- trying to identify the source of the sound.

"Strange" she heard Hogun say, his voice confused and wary at the same time, "that sounded like-"

"Loki's laugh" Volstagg finished for him, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"But Loki's dead" Fandral said, once again stating the blatantly obvious, for which he earned a withering glare from Sif.

"This is Loki we're talking about here" Volstagg reminded them "He's been dead before." Fandral raised a golden eyebrow at his giant friend, his eyes betraying his doubt.

"Maybe this is his idea of a 'last laugh'" he suggested, using his hands to emphasise his words, "Maybe this is part of his plan to finally drive Thor- or us- over the edge."

The silence that followed his words was deafening. No one spoke ill of the dead, or in this case, the recently thought deceased. It simply just wasn't done. To hear such words come from an honourable warrior was not only surprising, it was downright insulting.

Sif's blood boiled in her veins at the obvious slur, despite not being too fond of the Trickster's past actions herself.

"Apparent death or no" she growled, stalking closer to the now-quivering moustached warrior "we do NOT speak ill of him! For Thor's sake if nothing else."

That brought Fandral up short, his eyes widening to almost comical proportions whilst his eyebrows firmly entrenched themselves in his hairline, his face reddening so he looked more like a walking tomato than a warrior. The others were quiet as well, apparently shocked by their Lady's sudden outburst.

Soon they split up, bidding each other farewell as they retired to their respective chambers.

And; just before she fell asleep, Sif swore she felt faint breath on her cheek and a voice murmuring softly in her ear, so soft she couldn't make out the words.

The others were having similar experiences, although much less intimate: Volstagg swore he heard laughter coming from the hallway, Hogun vaguely heard faint words apparently coming from his bedside, and Fandral definitely felt _something_ ruffle his hair, and it didn't come from the buxom brunette curled up beside him.

But, perhaps it was Thor who experienced the strangest of these phenomena. For whilst he slept, a shadow crept through his open window, landing on silent feet before slipping over to a chair at his bedside.

And there it sat, as if content to watch and wait until the Prince awoke, and to provide a silent vigil over his form until the breaking of the dawn.

* * *

**And there you have it, the first installment is complete. So who's the shadow? Are they a threat to our beloved Thunderer, or a mysterious ally? You'll just have to wait and find out. And I know this chapter is rather short, but I thought I'd get it posted up before New Year as a treat to you all. Until next time, Chiao!**


End file.
